In Japan, Google Ordered To Remove Some Autocomplete Suggestions

The Japan Times reports Google has been ordered to turn off its Autocomplete search suggestion feature in Japan after being sued over some of those suggestions. However, Google says it’s only being ordered to remove specific suggestions, not to turn off the entire feature.

The man’s case was adjudicated on March 19th. He said he found out he lost his job several years ago and was rejected for new jobs due to the suggestions offered by Google. Specifically, when you typed in this man’s name, Google Autocomplete apparently suggested the man’s name along with criminal acts.

The Tokyo District Court approved the petition to require Google to turn off the feature, the Japan Times reported. However, after we initially posted this story based on the Japan Times article, Google sent us this statement:

A Japanese court issued a provisional order requesting Google to delete specific terms from Autocomplete. The judge did not require Google to completely suspend the Autocomplete function. Google is currently reviewing the order.